Courtney Woods

Courtney Michelle Woods (born 24 March 1997) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Townsville Flames of the NBL1 North. She is also contracted with the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college basketball for the Northern Illinois Huskies before beginning her professional career in the WNBL in 2020 with the Fire. She won her first WNBL championship with the Fire in 2023. In 2026, she won her second WNBL championship and earned grand final MVP honours.

In the NBL1 North, Woods won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023 with the Townsville Flames and Northside Wizards respectively. She is a two-time NBL1 North Most Valuable Player, earning the honour in 2023 and 2026.

Early life and career Woods grew up in Brisbane, Queensland, where she attended St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School. She played badminton, basketball and field hockey at St. Margaret's. Woods served as basketball captain in 2014, and her team enjoyed two premiership-winning seasons coached by her mother. She played for Queensland's State U20 basketball team. She did not appear in a game for the Spartans, and joined the Brisbane Capitals of the Queensland Basketball League for the 2015 season. In 15 games for the Capitals, she averaged 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. She earned four player of the week awards and earned first-team All-MAC honours. She had earned two player of the weeks awards

As a redshirt senior in 2019–20, Woods again earned first-team All-MAC honours after averaging 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. She scored in double figures in 24 of 30 games, scoring a season-high 36 points against Toledo on 7 March 2020. She finished her career as the NIU all-time leader with 323 three-pointers and 130 games. She also finished second all time at NIU in scoring with 2,216 points. where she averaged 24.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals in seven games.

On 2 July 2020, Woods signed a two-year deal with the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She joined the Fire for the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland, She averaged 10.1 minutes in the regular season and played just two minutes in the grand final loss. In 14 games, she averaged 6.1 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. In 11 games, she averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. In 26 games, she averaged 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game. In the 2022–23 season, the Fire won the WNBL championship behind a 16-game winning streak. Woods saw limited court time in the grand final series, logging two minutes in game one and none in game two. She went on to lead the Wizards to the NBL1 North championship behind her Finals MVP performance. It marked her third championship in 12 months. In 22 games, she averaged 24.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The Fire finished on top of the ladder but lost to the Perth Lynx in the semi-finals. In 23 games, she averaged 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Woods joined the Darwin Salties for the 2024 NBL1 North season. She was named to the NBL1 North Second Team. In 16 games, she averaged 23.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. On 11 February 2025, she signed a further extension with the Fire until the end of the 2026–27 season. For the 2024–25 season, she was named to the All-WNBL First Team. She went on to play her 100th WNBL game in the semi-finals and helped the Fire reach the grand final. In the grand final series, Woods was held to 13 points in game one and 10 points in game two, as the Fire lost 2–0 to the Bendigo Spirit. She earned her first grand-final start during the series and averaged over 30 minutes per game. In six games, she averaged 31.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.67 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

Woods returned as co-captain of the Fire alongside Alicia Froling for the 2025–26 WNBL season. She missed time in December 2025 due to a hamstring injury. On 20 January 2026, she recorded 17 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds in an 82–76 win over the Perth Lynx. She was named the recipient of league's Golden Hands Award after averaging 6.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while limiting herself to just 3.2 turnovers. She also earned All-WNBL First Team honours for the second straight year. In game one of the grand final series against the Perth Lynx, Woods scored a game-high 22 points in an 88–79 win. In game two, she scored a career-high and game-high 28 points, along with eight rebounds and seven assists, in a 108–105 overtime victory over the Lynx. The win marked her second WNBL championship and was she was subsequently named WNBL Grand Final MVP.

Woods joined the Townsville Flames for the 2026 NBL1 North season, where she averaged a near triple-double and finished the regular season as the league's points and assists leader. She was subsequently named NBL1 North Most Valuable Player for the second time and earned NBL1 North All Star Five First Team honours. She helped the Flames reach the NBL1 North Grand Final series, where the team lost 2–1 to the Mackay Meteorettes. In a game one loss, Woods had a team-high 30 points. In a game two win, she had a game-high 39 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals. Due to a concussion suffered in game two, she was ruled of game three. The Flames subsequently lost the decider and the series to finish as runners-up.

National team career In February 2025, Woods was named in her first Australian Opals squad. In April 2025, she was named in the Opals squad for a trans-Tasman series against New Zealand in May. She was subsequently selected for the Opals' final squad for the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in China. She helped the Opals win gold.

Personal life Woods' mother, Dana , She has an older brother and sister.

Woods holds Australian and American citizenship.

In 2022, Woods spent the off-season gaining work experience as the operations manager for the Townsville Fire and also enrolled in the MBA program at James Cook University. While playing for the Darwin Salties in 2024, Woods started working part time as a project coordinator with club sponsor, Ventia.